Friday, March 28, 2014

Obama's 'Flexibility' Leads to a Dangerous World

"This is my last election," President Obama said in words caught on an open mic. "After my election, I have more flexibility."

He was speaking in Seoul, South Korea, in March 2012, almost exactly
two years ago, to Dmitry Medvedev, then in his last year as Vladimir
Putin's stand-in president of Russia.

The subject was missile defense, and Obama was apparently seeking time
to assuage Russia's objections that a proposed U.S. missile defense
system, sited in Romania, Poland, Turkey and Spain, would not be aimed
at Russian missiles.

Earlier, in September 2009, Obama canceled missile defense
installations in Poland and the Czech Republic, to which Russia
objected. The decision was relayed by telephone, at midnight European
time, on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's attack on Poland
pursuant to the Hitler-Stalin pact in 1939. The Polish prime minister
refused to take the call.

"I understand your message," Medvedev told Obama in Seoul. "I will
transmit this information to" -- no question of who was in control --
"Vladimir."

It is becoming apparent now what "more flexibility" looks like. And
that Mitt Romney was not entirely off the mark when, after Obama's words
to Medvedev, he called Putin's Russia "our No. 1 geopolitical foe."

Romney did not predict Putin's seizure of Crimea last month any more
than Obama did. Very few people foresaw it during the cascade of events
-- the firing on demonstrators in Kiev, the ouster and flight of
Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich -- that led to it late last month.

And Obama probably did not anticipate that Syria's Bashar Assad regime
would use chemical weapons after he warned in August 2012, during his
reelection campaign, that doing so would be "a red line for us ... that
would change our calculus." With the flexibility provided "after my
election" and with Putin's help, Obama quietly erased the red line.

The takeover of Crimea rubbed out the red boundary line guaranteed by
the U.S., Britain, Russia and Ukraine in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
In response, Obama imposed weak sanctions on some Russians on March 17
and somewhat stronger sanctions three days later.

Additional F-15s were sent to Lithuania and a dozen F-16 jets were sent
to Poland. Vice President Joe Biden journeyed to Poland and assured
NATO members of what, absent Obama's flexibility, would not have had to
be said: that the United States would maintain its obligations to
respond to attack on NATO allies -- Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia.

These responses are, as former Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote in
the Wall Street Journal on March 25, "anemic." Unsettling possibilities
loom. Putin is massing troops near eastern Ukraine and might attack in
the name of protecting ethnic Russians there. And there are large
Russian minorities in Latvia and Estonia.

In the Netherlands, Obama suggested he'd impose tougher sanctions on
Russian businesses if Putin moved further into Ukraine. But he conceded
there would be no military response to the seizure of Crimea.

The contagion may spread further. China, long opposed to outside
interference in nations' internal affairs, has made it clear it does not
oppose Russia's move across a recognized international border.

Since
Richard Nixon's opening to China, American administrations have tried to
capitalize on tensions between China and Russia. Now these two
once-Communist powers seem to be coming together.

And China has been asserting sovereignty over disputed islands in the
East and South China Seas long claimed by Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines
and Vietnam. That follows its earlier declaration of an air defense
identification zone jutting out far from its recognized territorial
waters.

All this follows from what Gates calls "the fecklessness of the West in
Syria" -- flexibility in action. Gates argues that Putin's actions
"require from Western leaders strategic thinking, bold leadership and
steely resolve -- now."

Gates suggests that Obama reinstate the defense budget he proposed last
year, without the sequester-required cuts in this year's budget that
would shrink the Army's manpower to 1940 levels and the Navy to 1917
levels.

But that would require difficult negotiations with Republicans on a
range of budget issues. Obama has made no serious attempts to negotiate
such issues, as President Bill Clinton did with Newt Gingrich, since he
raised the ante and broke up the "grand bargain" negotiations in August
2011.

The problem with flexibility and erasing red lines is that it leaves
you with little flexibility and tempts others to cross red lines you
don't dare erase. "After my election" turns out to be a dangerous time.

A Whole Lotta Democratic Corruption Going On

Has
Nancy Pelosi seen a newspaper lately? (Pro tip, hon: Like the Obamacare
monstrosity, you have to read it to find out what's in it.) I'd love to
see her face in the wake of the veritable epidemic of Democratic
corruption now sweeping the country. Pelosi's blink count must be off
the charts.

I'm going to make it easy on Pelosi and put all of the latest cases in
one handy rogue's gallery reference list. But let's not be naive. It's
clear to me that the Barack Obama/Eric Holder DOJ is clearing the decks
before the midterms. Prediction: The FBI's GOP corruption shoe will drop
right before the elections for maximum distraction and damage. For now,
let's take stock of the jackassery:

--The Dirty Democratic Mayors' Club: Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Patrick
Cannon, who bragged about partying with the Obamas to help grease the
wheels for city projects, was arrested this week on federal corruption
and influence-peddling charges. He's accused of accepting gobs of cash
payoffs and Las Vegas trips.

The bust follows former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's conviction in
January on corruption charges; former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack's February
conviction on cash bribes for a downtown parking garage; and former San
Diego mayor and serial groper Bob Filner's disgraceful resignation
after conviction on sexual harassment-related charges; former Detroit
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's conviction on extortion, bribery and conspiracy
charges; and former Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Larry Langford's corruption
and bribery conviction.

--California state Democratic Sen. Leland Yee, gun grabber by day,
alleged arms-trafficking gangsta by night: Yee made a decades-long
career out of sanctimoniously demonizing gun owners and railing against
the Second Amendment. He was arrested this week on corruption charges
after an FBI sting found probable cause to believe Yee had conducted
wire fraud and engaged in a conspiracy to deal firearms without a
license and illegally import firearms. The Chinatown pol went so far as
to discuss "details of the specific types of weapons" with a prospective
donor. Yee is currently a candidate for California's secretary of state
office.

--Pennsylvania state Democratic Sen. LeAnna Washington, party animal:
This week, a judge ruled that the Keystone State could proceed with a
trial against Washington, who reportedly forced her legislative staff
for eight years to use taxpayer time and money for an annual birthday
party whose proceeds were diverted to her campaign account. She is
charged with felony theft of services and felony conflict of interest.
More than a half-dozen former employees blew the whistle. "I am the
f---ing senator," she screamed at one staffer who objected. "I do what
the f--- I want, and ain't nobody going to change me."

--Rhode Island state Democratic House Speaker Gordon Fox, multiple-raid
target: The powerful Democrat, beloved by the left for his gay-marriage
activism, announced last weekend that he is stepping down from office
after FBI raids on his home and work office. Fox is the target of
several criminal investigations by the U.S. attorney's office, FBI, IRS
and state police. Mum's the word so far on the nature of the alleged
criminal activity involved.

--California state Democratic Sen. Ronald Calderon, all in the
corrupted family: Calderon is on a paid leave of absence after being hit
with a 24-count federal indictment for bribery and corruption. His
brother also was charged with multiple counts of money laundering and
influence peddling.

Prosecutors allege the legislator accepted nearly
$100,000 in bribes, plane trips, gourmet meals and golf games in
exchange for political favors. He also is accused of paying his daughter
$39,000 for a phony office job and paying $40,000 in "consulting" fees
for a campaign website that didn't exist.

--California state Democratic Sen. Roderick Wright, lying liar: Also on
paid leave, the entrenched Los Angeles-area politician is now fighting
his January conviction on felony perjury, false declaration of candidacy
and fraudulent voting charges. Wright claimed to live in a rented room
in an Inglewood home within his district, but the jury found his true
residence was outside the district in upscale Baldwin Hills. The jury
found he lied on candidacy declarations and voter registration documents
and fraudulently voted in five elections.

--New York state Democratic Assemblyman Bill Scarborough, shady
jet-setter: The FBI and state authorities raided his home and offices as
part of a probe into his travel voucher practices. He blamed a "tabloid
hit job" by the New York Post over questionable per diem claims
totaling $60,000.

--Illinois state Democratic House Rep. Keith Farnham, child porn probe
suspect: After sponsoring two bills to increase penalties for child porn
possession, Farnham was the subject of state and federal raids last
week on his home ... for possession of child porn. Over the weekend, he
resigned his seat citing "serious health issues." There's a euphemism.

Remember: Nancy Pelosi famously promised to "drain the moral swamp" and
end the "culture of corruption." She cast herself and her minions as
America's political clean-up crew. But once again, the culture of
corruption boomerang has swung back around to smack Democrats in their
smug mugs.

The cynical Swamp Drainers just hope you forget it all by
election time. Don't.

Qatar,
which is under fire by fellow Gulf States and Egypt for its material
and propaganda (Al Jazeera) support to the Muslim Brotherhood — which
has again been reclassified as a terrorist organization by said Arab
states — is now turning to the United States and Obama administration
for support.

According to sources, “Hamad
bin Ali al-Attiyah, The Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs, is
leaving for Washington to discuss the situation in Qatar with US
Secretary of State John Kerry, an American Foreign Ministry source said
on Monday. Al-Attiyah and Mohammed Jaham Al-Kuwari, Qatar’s Ambassador
at Washington, are also planning to meet with Barak Obama during their
stay in US, the source told reporters.”

And what is the purpose of these high level meetings? The Qatar
Royal family has sent an official letter “requesting urgent help and US
mediation in the crisis between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab
Emirates, and Qatar.”

TheIsraeli Christian Recruitment Forum on
Thursday came out loaded for bear against yet another malicious
propaganda campaign targeting Israel on the popular social network
Facebook. The campaign appears to center around a composite picture of
six dilapidated local churches that are presented as false evidence that
the Jewish state discriminates against and seeks to remove Christians
from the Holy Land.

Israel Today
Such notions have undergirded a new Evangelical Christian movement that
paints Palestinian Christians as the suffering Jesus to Israel’s
strong-armed Romanesque oppressor.

The first lie the Israeli Christian
Recruitment Forum (a growing movement of Arabic-speaking Christian
natives) takes on is that in 1948, Jewish forces swept through the land
with the aim of eradicating all Christians, along with the Muslims.

Israel Arab Christians protest in support of Israel

“To our great disappointment, in 1948
David Ben Gurion wanted the Christians to stay and join the defense of
the State of Israel, but the Christians failed to be forward-thinking
and instead cowered in fear behind the Arab militias or tried to stay
out of the conflict all together,” the group wrote on its own Facebook
page.

The forum noted that the local Druze
residents “initially fought against Israel, but ultimately switched
sides, saving their villages and their people.”

Arab Christians are enlisting in the IDF in ever greater numbers

Among the other fallacies listed is
the idea that surrounding Arab nations are “paradise” for Christians
compared to the “hell” of living in what many try to portray as the
“apartheid state” of Israel.

To this, the forum responded: “If
Israel is hell and the Arab state are paradise, then we as Christians
with Aramean roots say that our religion is actually rooted in Judaism,
[so] we prefer to remain in the ‘hellfire of the State of Israel.’ We
invite the rest of you to take a one way trip to Syria or Iraq where you
will be warmly welcomed as Arab Christians by [various terror groups],
or to Gaza where Hamas will surely love you well.”

The group also addressed the ongoing
spate of Jewish vandalism against primarily Christian targets, calling
it the actions of a small group of racists who first and foremost are
harming Israel’s image, and reminding everyone that the so-called “price
tag” attackers have yet to kill or injure a single person.

Mona
Liza Abdo, an Israeli-Arab soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, said
she wasn’t required to enlist in the Israeli army, but her determination
to protect Israel motivated her to volunteer

“We have made it clear that if, through no fault of their own, they
were unable to enroll, that eligibility extends to a delayed enrollment
period, and they will have a special enrollment period we have the
authority to grant.”

- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius when asked about the extended
ObamaCare enrollment period

And so the happiness that is ObamaCare continues to hurt 'We the People'... continues to hurt American
businesses...and continues to result in massive job losses.

And now the once written in stone March 31st sign-up deadline has
been thrown out the window for this past Tuesday the White House said it
would be postponing that drop date so they "can squeeze as many people
as possible into the program." Yet another change unilaterally made...number 38 if I'm
NOT mistaken...because the numbers to date are nowhere near the numbers
needed to keep ObamaCare afloat. And this newest change will apply to
the exchanges in three dozen states by extending the enrollment deadline
for two to three weeks. Translation: NOT enough young people are
enrolling in ObamaCare to carry the older and sicker people who need
coverage the most.

Looks like even the young who once blindly supported Obama are now
waking up to the harsh reality that NOTHING in life is free. So what
will happen when the funding needed cannot be gotten...the bureaucratic
fat-cats overseeing ObamaCare might just have to start 'killing off'
older people to save needed dollars to funnel into ObamaCare,
and they'll do it by revving up the 'death panels' into full operational
mode starting with the sickest of the sick..those suffering from
cancer.

And in a way...cancer patients NOT withstanding...it has already begun for back
on January 1, 2014, to help with said funding, roughly $22 billion was
cut from Medicare's home health care services... cuts to be implemented
over four years. Translation: roughly 3.5 million seriously ill
housebound seniors...seniors who are older, poorer, and sicker than the
general Medicare population...woke up on New Year's Day to find Obama
had left them a Happy New Year's gift from hell...left them with the
fact that ObamaCare had drastically cut funding for their much needed
home health care services. And to make matters worse, many of these
affected live in rural areas where home health care might be their only
source of medical care, because doctors and hospitals are often too far
away...too far for those too weak and sick to travel.

And here's another bit of happiness...roughly 40% of all providers
of home health services will see net losses because of this Medicare
cut. Translation: 4-out-of-10 providers on whom housebound seniors depend
on for their medical needs will now face bankruptcy and business
closure because of ObamaCare. This means almost 5,000 home health care
companies across America along with their corresponding roughly 500,000 jobs will be
wiped out in order to pay for ObamaCare.

And sadly, what was once one's worst nightmare has now come to life as reality.

As I previously stated, Obama had made 37 previous unilateral changes
to ObamaCare before this newest one and all were done without a
Constitutionally required act of Congress. And with this
change...probably the most serious of all the changes as it involves the
individual mandate...Obama has taken
it upon himself to extended the open enrollment period until mid-April
for those individuals who had perused the HealthCare.gov. marketplace
but who, for whatever reason, could NOT sign up. Never mind that Section
1311 of ObamaCare as passed into law allowed the Secretary of HHS...as
in the infamous Kathleen Sebelius... discretion to define dates for the
open enrollment period each year, it still specifically specified that the
initial enrollment period had to be announced by July 1, 2012... which it
was and that date was March 31, 2014.

And given that Sebelius has already declared that the first
enrollment period must end on March 31st and with 20 months having gone
by since then...Obama's unilaterally extending the period even by a few
weeks is yet another breech of his namesake law...is yet another breech
of our Constitution for the Constitution authorizes the President to
propose and veto legislation but it does NOT authorize him to change
existing laws.

And by Obama changing ObamaCare now 38 times he is actually
legislating form the oval office and NO president has that authority.
Article 1, Section 1 states, "All legislative powers herein granted
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States which shall consist
of a Senate and a House of Representatives..." Nowhere does it mention
the President being able to change legislation and that's because the President is NOT a member of Congress.

And Article 2, Section 3, Clause 5, the "Caring for the faithful
execution of the law" clause means the President must take care that the
laws be faithfully executed as written and passed by Congress and is
meant to ensure that a law is faithfully executed by the
President...which by making 38 changes to ObamaCare as passed by
Congress he is NOT doing.

Bottom line...all the changes Barack HUSEIN Obama has unilaterally made to ObamaCare are outright unconstitutional.

And now add in for a final bit of happiness that those who
were cancelled under the ObamaCare steamroller of a few months ago did
NOT have to be cancelled as they could have used the same nonsensical
excuse that those who have NOT signed up by the March 31st deadline will
be able to use, that is that they can simply check a box that says they had
trouble signing up for ObamaCare and will be allowed to "rely on an
honor system" to attest that “they tried to enroll before the
deadline…and the government will not try to determine whether the person
is telling the truth.”

Like the Obama government even knows the meaning of the word 'truth.'

And even after the mid-April deadline people can still be granted a
sign-up extension by simply contacting the call center and requesting
one.

Selective enforcement thy name continues to be ObamaCare...and the happiness continues on.

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I am an American Patriot...part of the grassroots movement of bloggers spreading the truth the media will not. I am also co-host with Craig Andresen of RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on RSP Radio at: https://streamingv2.shoutcast.com/right-side-patriots